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Gold’s recent run on Wall Street made me think about what makes businesses valuable. Gold represents an investment; business invests its capital into tools, equipment and facilities. Conjuring up thoughts of gold I imagined someone grabbing a cloth and physically shining up some jewelry or a gold bar. I chuckled. Who shines a gold bar? But who […]

In order to achieve maximum and consistent returns with Lean Six Sigma, combine LSS with systems thinking and TOC into a single continuous improvement approach.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact: Michelle Matschke [email protected] (203) 267-3445 Southbury, CT (February 29, 2012) – Juran Institute is excited to announce their attendance at this year’s 24th Annual Quest for Excellence Conference, also known as the “Official Conference for the Baldrige Award,” being held in Washington, DC.  In addition, Juran’s President and CEO, […]

Kanban is a Japanese word that translates into “signboard” or “billboard,” and is a tool developed in Lean manufacturing but applied to any process. It is a visual scheduling system that allows a team – for any process – to know what needs to be done, what is being done and what has been done. Kanban can […]

The following are selected highlights of a 2011 research study. The complete report, with more analysis and extended findings, is available for purchase on the iSixSigma Marketplace. Even in today’s challenging economy, small companies continue to maintain their focus on Six Sigma and allocate resources to ensure that their deployments reach their goals. While the […]

Data collection is in full swing – be a part of the fun and create or update an iSixSigma Job Shop account today. In appreciation of your participation, everyone who creates or update a Job Shop account between Feb 13-Mar 2, 2012 will receive a free copy of the final report! Some interesting facts from past […]

Historically, Lean and Six Sigma were used to solve two different types of business problems. Today, Lean and Six Sigma are integrated into one methodology and toolset for solving any process problem in any type of organization, from Fortune 500 companies to small private businesses to nonprofit institutions. In this introductory video, you will learn […]

Every Six Sigma project and Lean event goes exactly as planned right? There are many reasons for detours during your project journey; unfortunately, many of these are unpredictable. As much as we try to avoid these pitfalls by following established methodologies or hiring experienced project management personnel, it remains clear that some of the best […]

If a coach were assembling a basketball team, what criteria would be used to select the players? If an academic team were being selected, what would the criteria be? If the selection of a process improvement team were the objective, what criteria would be used? It seems simple, but it is easy to make simple […]

It is time for iSixSigma’s 9th annual Global Six Sigma Salary Survey! Every year iSixSigma analyzes information in its Job Shop database to produce a Six Sigma-specific salary report.   Please note: Although the data is pulled from our Job Shop, it is only presented in aggregated or summarized format; no personally identifying information is […]

I was recently asked if I was aware of any research on the advantages of hiring people with a “Lean mindset” vs. those with specific industry experience. My response was, regretfully, that I did not know of any documented research. I was then asked, would I prefer that my company hire people with a “Lean […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tempe, Ariz. (Feb. 6, 2012) – Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering is offering a Master Black Belt certification program May 14-18, 2012, at Skysong in Scottsdale, Ariz. ASU’s program enables Six Sigma Black Belt managers, directors, engineers and others to  achieve the highest level of technical and organizational […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact: Michelle Matschke [email protected] (203) 267-3445 Southbury, CT (February 7, 2012) – Juran is pleased to announce their introduction of the new Organization Health Check, attendance at HIMSS12 annual conference, latest workshop schedule, and the acquisition of Baldrige.com into their family of quality solutions and services. Click here for full […]

Through Lean Six Sigma projects and an arsenal of tools, Black Belts make change and manage change. But before Black Belts pat themselves on the back for a job well done, they should consider the following: How deep, pervasive and life altering are the initiated change? What mechanisms were put in place to make the […]

Everything seems to be available in 3-D these days – movies, magazines and even television – so why not DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control)? The idea may sound silly, but many opportunities go unnoticed because practitioners do not have the right tools in place to see them from different perspectives. The traditional DMAIC process […]

I was recently asked, “What is the most efficient way to communicate change throughout the value stream?” What I am about to propose does not need to take the place of other methods to communicate change. Historically, email, newsletters, video or updating policies all have had their place. I have had good experiences using a […]

To facilitate the development of its employees and better respond to the changing business environment, one department of a large financial-services company decided to revamp its existing performance management system through a Six Sigma project. A pre-project analysis revealed that a complete redesign of the system was required. As incremental improvement in the existing system […]

As a career operations professional, many of my friends understand that I see process flows in nearly everything I encounter. Some friends find this entertaining, others find it a bit annoying. But mostly they allow me to exercise (not exorcise) my craft. You see, I was born of operational parents. I’m not sure if it […]

A common metric many organizations use to assess the performance of their Lean Six Sigma program is project cycle time – the total time from the beginning to the end of a process improvement project, including total process time and all delays. If your organization’s project cycle time is running higher than your targeted rate, […]

Michael Cyger is on a roll with videos about the new iSixSigma.com – he’s posted a new one on how to use your iSixSigma profile. If you have any questions about how to upload your avatar (I needed help with the cropping feature), learn what’s contributing to your reputation, add your bio and more, this is […]

The path to Lean and Six Sigma is different for every company. Some begin a deployment as a means to increase productivity or profitability; others start with encouragement from a new leader. For DC Electronics, the journey stemmed from an unlikely combination of circumstances – unprecedented business growth and a bit of tough love from a […]

In this video, I walk you through the new iSixSigma.com website, how to use the site, the features, functionality and special areas you might want to investigate further.

Welcome to iSixSigma.com Version 4.0! I am excited to announce the launch of iSixSigma.com, Version 4.0, after purchasing back iSixSigma on November 7th. In this short video, I describe some of the new features and exciting updates we’ve made to this version of iSixSigma. Next Video: How to Use iSixSigma.com »

Readers will again have access to the best Six Sigma, Lean and operational excellence resources as well as more ways to share, learn and discover Bainbridge Island, Wash (PRWEB) November 08, 2011: iSixSigma.com, the leading online community and resource portal dedicated to Six Sigma, Lean and other operational excellence methodologies, is back under the ownership […]

The cookbook contains a succinct representation of various topics in probability theory and statistics. It provides a comprehensive reference reduced to the mathematical essence, rather than aiming for elaborate explanations. » Download the Probability and Statistics Cookbook Probability and Statistics Cookbook Screenshots

As I travel the country for Auburn University, assisting companies with lean implementations, one of the first signs of resistance occurs during the discussion of standards. Just last week, a supervisor said, “the operators feel like standards are painting them into a corner and don’t allow room for dealing with problems.” When I hear this […]

Greetings! This is my first blog for iSixSigma. By way of introduction, I’m on the outreach faculty of Auburn University where I support local industry with leadership coaching and lean implementation services. I look forward to sharing the common goal of continuous improvement and daily learning! As most of you know, Alabama was hit with […]

I was running outside in the back country on a beautiful morning. It reminded me of the summer days when I was training for marathons with groups of runners. Those were some most memorable days I ever had, a lot of hard work, sweat, pain, but also full of fun. What does it have to […]

The deployment of Lean Six Sigma techniques at the in the U.S. Army’s Adjutant General Corps in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, has resulted in the streamlined delivery of payments through the official mail system.

One week to go. That’s about all the time you have left to take part in the 2011 iSixSigma’s Best Places to Work™ for Six Sigma Professionals event. A week may seem like a lot of time, but we all know how fast these summer days can fly by. The deadline for submitting your nomination […]

Reducing wait times is a perennial challenge for the service industry, particularly if you haven’t rooted out all the causes for the delays. The mind mapping visualization tool can help you make sense of large volumes of interconnected data and fast-track implementation of Lean Six Sigma.

A group of healthcare leaders from Saskatchewan, Canada, recently visited the United States to tour hospitals in Washington state and learn about the successful deployment of the Lean Six Sigma methodology to improve efficiency.

Beginning Aug. 1, Black Belt Ken Curry will become the next vice president of the customer services division of the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD).

A clinical laboratory in the African nation of Uganda is preparing to adopt Lean standards to improve efficiency, according to a statement from Ali Elbireer, laboratory administrative director for the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI).

Isn’t it amazing how there’s “the next big thing” everyday? Headlines from blogs, sales websites, newspapers, even Twitter and LinkedIn, carry this headline continuously. How many of these “things” really are new? Years ago when I started my continuous improvement journey, I read about Deming and Juran. Quality Circles and SPC were big. Then Total […]

If you were selecting a basketball team, what criteria would you use to select the players? What about if you were selecting an academic team? If the selection of a process improvement team were the objective, what criteria would you use? The answers to these questions may seem simple, but Belts can sometimes make things […]

“Before cars, make people.” – Eiji Toyoda, former chairman of Toyota. Jidoka is one of the core principles of the Toyota Production System, one that empowers production workers to stop the assembly line and solve problems at the moment they occur. Jidoka integrates the two guiding pillars of the Toyota Way, “Continuous Improvement” and “Respect […]

Starwood Hotels and Resorts has announced the appointment of Julia Harnischfeger as general manager of the company’s new 252-room Aloft London ExCeL hotel, which is scheduled to open in October 2011.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recently reported that the Canadian province of Quebec is on track to lower the rate of increase in costs for its universal healthcare system due to the implementation of Lean Six Sigma-based continuous improvement practices.

Mobile applications firm Xora Inc., based in Egan, Minn., USA, has hired Black Belt Howard Latham to fill the newly created position of vice president of customers.

Voice of the customer, often qualitative in nature, may appear simple. But identifying the right customers and their needs, in my opinion, is exceedingly challenging in practice.

Boeing has announced plans to overhaul its CH-47 Chinook helicopter production facility in Ridley Park, Pa., USA, and incorporate Lean renovations that will allow the plant to increase production by 50 percent.

At the recent Clinton Global Initiative meeting in Chicago, Toyota Motor Corp. announced the launch of a program that will teach its Lean-based Toyota Production System (TPS) guidelines to schools, hospitals and non-profits across the United States.

A recent project conducted by eight hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers in the United States, along with the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, has implemented methods such as Lean Six Sigma and change management to address the issue of wrong site surgeries.

In his announcement to run for governor of Washington state in 2012, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee cited his plans to enact continuous process improvement (CPI) methodologies in the state government to reduce spending and create more jobs.

Diesel engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. is discussing a possible collaboration with the municipality of Franklin Township, Ind., USA, about improving the town’s financial performance via Lean Six Sigma methods, according to a report by WRTV-6.

In these difficult economic times it is vital now more than ever that organizational leadership understand and implement the best defense against all types of waste. Value added analysis and percentage increases to the overall value added activity must be among the top measurements for all employees. Non-value activities need to be reduced and cultural […]

Let’s start off by defining Lean manufacturing. Lean (as described on multiple on-line resources) is described as a production practice that focuses on the elimination of wasteful elements in all process to increase the value to the customer. Sounds great! What organization wouldn’t want to implement a program to eliminate waste? The problem is that […]